Paul Romero
Skilled with his shotgun and sporting an almost non-existent sense of morality, Paul is just another gun for hire in the Cattle Country. Biography Born to hard-scrabble farmers in southern Texas in 2252, Paul grew up hungry, hard-working, and dedicated to not have to live like that again. The third of four children, there was no real opposition to his announcement to leave home at 15. Taking with him only the clothes on his back, he headed west following the sun. He made a critical discovery on his third day, when he found a combat shotgun while scavenging through an old farmhouse. He also found two Molerats in the basement, and promptly blew them apart with buckshot. Cooking the largest pieces over a fire of old baseboard, He ate his fill for the first time that night, and decided to hunt to live. Waking around noon the next morning, he searched the house one last time for shells before setting off to the west yet again. After another ten days of walking with occasional eating, Paul finally came to the first town he had ever seen, Darble. He lived on the outskirts of Darble for two years hunting around for any type of game. His luck was poor more often then not and he would barely have enough to eat. He learned many things during those two years however; how to track game, how to clean and breakdown his shotgun, how to lay traps, and bartering in town among others. After spring came on that third year, Paul packed everything he could carry of value and headed south, Crossing into Mexico on April 14. A week later he stopped in a small cantina alongside Carretera 101, where he heard a man trying to rally together a posse. Hearing that the posse was providing food and a little money, Paul signed up. He left a hour later with eight others not counting the sheriff. They went hard on the trail after a gang of Comancheros that kidnapped children from the village nearby and sold them to slavers. They pursued them on foot for several days, almost losing their tracks due to a sudden rainstorm, before finally discovering them in an abandoned farm house. The posse stumbled across it just after sundown, and waited behind a nearby hill for two hours, both to rest and let the Comancheros fall into a drunken stupor. Around 11 they began to creep from behind the hill and surround the house, each man covering a window or a door so no one could get away. Once everyone was in position they opened fire, cutting through the ancient wood like it was paper. Paul's position happened to be the bedroom that the bandits were sleeping in, and after he emptied his drum, none were breathing. When the sheriff saw his work, he offered Paul a job on the spot. Time as a Deputy The small town town the sheriff hired him to help guard ended up being a small mining camp that had been converted post-war into a mushroom farm. The town, named Burro, was a surprisingly popular stop for travelers, which kept Paul informed and constantly busy. His duties consisted of keeping drunks from killing each other in the cantina, getting rid of stray wild life, and backing up the sheriff when he warned newcomers not to cause trouble in town. His three year tenure with the sheriff of Burro was his happiest: an easy job, respect from the townspeople, having enough to eat and still have leftovers. He managed to save enough money halfway through his second year there in 2271 to purchase a small adobe house from the mayor, moving out from the sheriff's home. By the time the spring of 2273 rolled around Paul had built himself an entire life in Burro, having began courting a young woman and there being talk of him taking over as sheriff. Those dreams were shattered in September when a large band of Comancheros burned the town. The night they attacked was the night the harvest came in, and the town was filled with merchants and farmers with pockets full of pesos. The dozen riders came from the north, the fastest way to the square. Paul rushed from his home when he heard the screams and gunshots. He encountered a lone bandit when he was only a block away from the square. Seeing him before he was seen, Paul fired twice and ran past, not sparing the now-misshapen corpse a glance. He arrived at the square seconds later, and was able to save the sheriff from two more Comancheros that were trying circle behind him. When he got close enough to the sheriff to talk, he told the older man that he had killed another on the way. The sheriff told him he had shot two of them and captured the second in the band. They were interrupted by the remaining half of the attackers riding across the square at them, two more of whom they killed before the remaining Comancheros turned and fled. The merchants and townspeople thanked the law men heartily, before leaving to check upon their families. The peace lasted only two hours however, as the raiders were back again later. The Jefe of the Commancheros had taken the killing of half his men as a great slight to himself, and needed revenge. He split his group in half, three men going to the sheriff's, and the others going to Paul's. The sheriff had just fallen asleep when the commancheros came into his house, and didn't even stir when they cut his throat open. Paul however, was another matter. While the Sheriff lived in the square, none of the raiders knew where the deputy lived. They crept through the alleys of the town until they finally found someone alone and grabbed them into the alley. The man told them what they wanted very fast, and after cutting his throat, the raiders made their way to Paul's house. Appearance Paul is a relatively unremarkable looking individual, standing 5'11" with sandy blond hair, brown eyes and tanned skin. His choice in clothes, a comfortable work-shirt, cloth pants with chaps over them, makes him look like most trail-hands, an image he is happy to foster as it gets him within shooting distance of most of his targets. Equipment Paul carries with him for general protection only his combat shotgun, with two other loaded drums in his trail bags. When he takes a contract however, he has been known to carry 10mm pistols, knives, Dynamite, and even an old laser RCW. Category:Characters Category:Tamaulipas Category:Mexico